Meet the Bloggers

Ashley DeTar Birt

Director of Christian Education, Rutgers Presbyterian Church

Ashley DeTar Birt is a recent graduate of Union Theological Seminary where she obtained her M.Div. She also holds degrees from Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh. Ashley currently works as the Director of Christian Education at Rutgers Presbyterian Church in New York, NY with some of the most fun kids she’s ever met. Her interests include the intersections of racial justice, children and youth, interfaith communication, LGBTQ+ issues (particularly the B), and Christianity. When she isn’t writing or at church, she enjoys sound editing and theatre tech.

Recent Posts

When I worked as a youth leader, I had the pleasure of having a few of my youth come out to me. Having the chance to minister to them as a supportive, understanding adult was a blessing and a responsibility I did not take lightly. While it was certainly serious business, their coming out also led to some moments of fun and amusement between us.

I remember one kid in particular, a bisexual kid, who announced a rather interesting theology.

Over the past several days, I’ve watched a lot of things happen in our country. An unannounced march in the night with Hitler shirts and tiki torches. A white supremacist rally ending in violence, injury, and death. The president going in front of cameras and defending the white supremacists. It has been infuriating, frightening, sickening, and unavoidable. To escape conversation about what’s happened means to avoid all news and media and to perhaps not leave your home or converse with friends.

Holy Week always brings about a mix of emotions for me. Over the course of a few short days, Christians go from shouting hosanna to eating with friends to remembering the state sanctioned murder of our Savior to seeing that death and hatred defeated in the resurrection.

Shortly after coming out to my church, I began to notice just how many LGBTQ people our congregation had. While my time prior to deciding to come out had been full of nerves and worry, my time after was filled with new friends and role models.

On July 8th, I wanted to scream at a little kid on the subway. Usually, I love kids. I have been babysitting since I was ten years old. My first job out of college was as a youth leader. I currently spend my days either working with children or planning programs so that I can work with children. I don’t even mind riding an airplane with a crying baby.

When I was in the fourth grade, I saw a video of Martin Luther King, Jr. delivering his “I Have a Dream” speech for the first time. As I was nine and we were watching it on a blurry box TV, I didn’t pay much attention to it. That was unfortunate because, as an adult, I see that so much of that speech dealt with the circumstances I should’ve been living in.

I’m a strong believer in the value of a journey. Whether it be literal (like a road trip), figurative (like learning a skill), or emotional (like overcoming trauma), a journey gives us a chance to move towards something, prepare for what comes next, and anticipate a new world for ourselves.

Kentucky Clerk Kim Davis is in jail. She refused to issue marriage licenses, even after members of her staff offered to do it (she forced them not to), even after the Supreme Court informed her that no exception from the law would be made for her. Stating that she was acting “under God’s authority,” she defied court orders and the American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky filed a motion for her to be held in contempt.

There’s a scene in the first season of the television show “The Fosters” in which Lena, one of the mothers in a lesbian relationship, helps Jude, her foster son, remove polish from his nails after some kids at school harass him over it.

She sits with him and explains that there are times when she would like to hold hands with her wife, Stef, but is afraid to because of how others might react.